Panties with shape-retaining cuffs



PANTS WITH SHAPE RETAINING CUFFS Filed JulyvlO, 1936 gmc/whom- 9 H 5.5ML-ier Patented Aug. 23, 1938 UNITED STATES PANTIES WITH Howard B.Snader, Temple, Pa.,

SHAPE-RETAINNG CUFFS assignor tov Vanity Fair Silk Mills, Reading, Pa.,a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 10, 1936, Serial N0.90,674 v 6 Claims.

This invention relates to the class of apparel and particularly toWomens knit pants,

The general object of the invention is to prom vide anv article of thetype described having relatively elastic cuffs fitting resilientlyagainst the leg, in which the original elasticity is perpetuatedthroughout the life of the garment.

Ordinarily the knit fabric becomes perma- 4 nently stretched throughbeing worn, from the 1liK heat of the body, laundering, etc., so thatthe cuffs become loose and distorted and do not fit the leg closely.

The present invention obviates this defect by providing a cuff of knitfabric lined with an ad- 15 herent film of rubber solution whichfortifies the native elasticity of the fabric preventing it acqulring aset when stretched, so that it invariably reassumes its original shapewhen released from stretching.

Another object of the invention is the construction of knit fabricpanties having the wales of the knitting in the cuff substantiallyperpendicular to the circumference ofthe cuff, and treated for example,`by spraying with a film of rubber or the like so thin and intimatelyadhesive that it does not bridge the wales, but follows the undulationsof the wales vand between them, forming in effect a mechanical springwhich pulls the wales back to their original close spacing after thefabric has been released from stretchn ing, preventing a permanent setor stretched condition of the cuff portion of the garment.

Still another object of the invention is the construction of the cuffportion from a folded piece of knit fabric with the wales runningperpendicular to the circumference and the inside faces coated with afilm of rubber which follows the undulations of the wales as describedand possesses residual tackiness so that the two plies constituting thecuff become united and doubly effective in restoring the cuff to itsoriginal size and shape.

The invention is as well adapted to the waistband of the apparel as thelimb cuffs.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms apart of the followingspecification and throughout the several figures of which the samecharacters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a garment illustrating my invention,displayed on a figure;

Figure 2 is a sectionfthr'ough the cuff and the ,adjacent body portionof the garment; y

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a fragment of the cuff portion in flator unfolded state.

Referring now infdertail to the several gures, the numeral l representsthe garment forming the subject ofl the inventionwhich may be of anystyle and any materiaLtheonly prerequisite bang that'it be ofknit'material and therefore elastic particularly in the cuff portions-2which are designed to fit the legs snugly, however, withn out anybinding 'or garter eifect. The cuff por tions-t may be knit' of the samematerial as the body portion of the garment l in fact insofar-"as theinvention is concerned they -may be integral therewith, although itispreferred to make them separately and stitch them2 to the' body portion.

It is one ofthe shortcomings of knit pants of the type which aredesigned to iit the leg closely that the requisite elasticity isshort-lived and that almost as soon' as cuff portions become permanentlystretched and will not reassume the original size hang loosely aroundthe leg in lanfuncomfortable and unsightly manner; I have found that ifthe material in the cuff portion be treated on the spray of latex orother suitablefrubb'er solution so as vto'deposit a thin film of rubberon the unexposed side, such'cuff portions after vulcanizan tion will notbecome distorted through stretchingk or other causes' butpossess-"enough inherent elasticity to return to their original shapewhen the stretching cause has been removed.

In Figure out the invention is shown, the numeral 3 repres enting astrip of knit fabric, the same fabricpreferably of which the bodyportion l is made. This strip has a sprayed film 4 of latex or othersuitable rubber solution. After the film has been vulcanized, the strip3 is folded along the line 5, which line becomes opening. The two plies6 and l formed by the folding are brought together in the mannerillustrated in Figure 2 and stitched around the leg opening of thegarment as illustrated at 8 in Figure 2. The lm material which as statedmay be latex rubber has a small degree of residual adhesiveness even fora long period of time after its manufacture which causes posite sides ofthe fold to unite where they touch, welding the two plies of fabric intoa unitary structure. The rubber film being on the inside of the hem doesnot interfere with the dyeing of the material so that it may be dyedoptionally bes the'garrnent is worn, thev or shape, `but yunexposed side-by ay 3 the preferred manner of carrying the bottom edge of the legvthe films on the opz Mft ' the knitting of the strip fore or afterhaving been treated with the' rubber solution.

In. the preferred embodiment of my invention, 3 is of such character asto produce closely adjacent Wales 9 extending perpendicularly withrespect to the circumference of the cuff opening, the wales appearingupon the inside as Well as the outside of the fabric. The adhesive filmwhich is preferably sprayed is of such thinness and intimateadhesiveness as to follow the contour of the wales making the filmclosely undulating as illustrated at I0 in Figure 3. This in effectmakes the film function in the same manner as a mechanical spring,adding to the inherent resiliency of the rubber, the elasticity producedby the flattening and bowing of the undulations of the filml as thefabric is stretched and relaxed. This greatly enhances the coeicient ofresiliency of the cuff and assures that the cuff will be restored to itsoriginal shape and size after having been released from stretching. Theuniting of the two plies of the hem through the residual tackiness ofthe rubber film doubles the elastic capacity of the hem since the frontand back plies cannot act separately, but must stretch and contracttogether. l

In the event that the material is such that the wales are'closelyspaced, a convenient method of carrying out the invention is` to applythe coating while the material is streched so as t0 cause it to followthe undulations of the wales, then to release the material and tovulcanize the coating or film while the material is in relaxedcondition.

to the invention, the scope of which is to be determined by a fairinterpretation of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Womens pants of knit material formed with circumferential openings,the material bounding said openings .finished with attachedcircumferential knit terminal hems having wales extending perpendicularto the circumference of the hems, each hem comprising a strip of knitmaterial coated on one side with Va thin film of rubber or the like setin undulating form following the surface of the wales and thedepressions between the wales, said material being folded with said nlmon the uneXposed surface.

2. Article of apparel of knit material formed with a circumferentialhole, the material being formed with a knit hem bounding said holehaving wales perpendicular to the circumferential dimension of said hem,the hem being coated on one side with a thin lm of elastic rubber havinga set shape acquired in situ while the fabric of the hem was in anunstretched condition.

3. Article of apparel of knit material formed with a circumferentialhole, the material being formed with a folded knit hem bounding saidhole, having wales perpendicular to the circumferential dimension ofsaid hem, the unexposed face only of the hem being coated with a thinfilm of elastic rubber having a set shape acquired in situ while thefabric of the hem was in unstretched condition and by means of whichfilm the: two plies of the hem are adhesively united.

4. Article of apparel of knit material formed with a circumferentialhole, the material being formed with a knit hem bounding said hole,having wales running perpendicular to the circumference of the hem, anda thin coating of rubber on the side of said hem following theundulations of the wales, the elasticity of the rubber dominating thatof the basic fabric of the hem.

5. Article of apparel of knit material formed with a circumferentialhole, the material being formed with a folded knit hem bounding saidhole, having wales running perpendicular to the circumference of thehem, the inside face only of the hem being coated with a thin film ofelastic rubber following the undulations of the wales, said film .havinga set shape acquired in situ while the fabric of the hem was inunstretched condition.

6. Method of making shape-retaining articles of apparel of knit materialof that type having circumferential holes in which the material isformed with knit hems bounding said holes, comprising tensioning the hemportions, applying a coating of rubber or its equivalent to the walesand valleys between the wales` in a film on one side of said hemportions, releasing said hem portions so that said film assumes anundulating shape, and vulcanizing said film with the hem in releasedcondition, thereby giving the film a set repose shape of 'undulatingform when contracted.

HOWARD B. SNADER.

